BBC - Religions - Christianity: Church of England Church of England Last updated 2011-06-30 An explanation of the Church of England, established or state church in England and part of the worldwide Anglican Communion; its structure, history and current issues. On this page History and role St Botolph's Church, Boston, England © The Church of England is the established or state church in England. It is divided into two provinces - Canterbury in the South of England and York in the North. Each province has a head or Primate - the Archbishops of Canterbury and York . The Church of England is part of the Anglican Communion, which is a worldwide family of churches in more than 160 different countries. On any one Sunday more than a million people attend Church of England services, making it the largest Christian denomination in the country.

The Established Church The Church of England is the established church, meaning, amongst other things: the Monarch is the the Supreme Governor of the church (theologically Jesus is the head), the Church performs a number of official functions, Church and State are linked History The Church of England traces its roots back to the early church, but its specifically Anglican identity and its links to the State date back to the Reformation. Henry VIII started the process of creating the Church of England after his split with the Pope in the 1530s. Henry was anxious to ensure a male heir after his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had borne him only a daughter. He wanted his marriage annulled in order to remarry. In 1534 after several attempts to persuade the Pope to grant an annulment, Henry passed the Act of Succession and then the Act of Supremacy. These recognised that the King was "the only supreme head of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia". Henry adopted the title given to him by the Pope in 1521, that of Defender of the Faith. In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed.

Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions Window in St Peter's, Hockwold, Norfolk © Role of the Monarch Today the Monarch retains the title Defender of the Faith and is still the Supreme Governor of the Church. He or she has to: approve the appointment of archbishops, bishops and deans (on the recommendation of the Prime Minister) formally open each new session (every five years) of the General Synod (the church's governing body) promise to maintain the Church in his or her coronation oath. Legislative role The Church of England also has a law-making role in Britain. Twenty-six bishops (including the two Archbishops) sit in the House of Lords and are known as the Lords Spiritual. They are thought to bring a religious ethos to the secular process of law. However, in an increasingly multi-cultural society, questions are being asked as to whether that role needs to be specifically fulfilled by Church of England Bishops. Future reform of the House of Lords could see the Lords Spiritual made up of a variety of Christian denominations and other faiths to reflect the religious make-up of Britain. Civic duties The Church of England, as the established church, fulfils a civic responsibility too.

Its bishops and priests are responsible for performing state weddings and funerals, acts of remembrances, memorial services as well as grand occasions like the coronation. After events like the Gulf War or major disasters, the country 'comes together' to mourn under the spiritual guidance of the Church of England. In recent years, such occasions have become more ecumenical and multi-faith as the Church of England acknowledges Britain's changing religious landscape. Hierarchy Southwark Cathedral © There are 43 dioceses in England covering the two provinces of Canterbury and York, plus the Diocese in Europe, with chaplaincies from the Arctic Circle to the Canaries. Each diocese has a bishop and usually at least one suffragan or assistant bishop. Each diocese is split into archdeaconries run by archdeacons. They are responsible for the administration of that part of the diocese. Each archdeaconry is split up into deaneries, which is a collection of parishes. The parish is the heart of the Church of England. Each parish is overseen by a parish priest, usually called a vicar or rector. Sometimes they are assisted by a curate or deacon or parish worker. The latter is a lay post.

Parishes Each parish church is run by the priest in collaboration with the PCC or Parochial Church Councils. This group is usually made up of the congregation but is open to anyone on the electoral roll. It, along with the bishop or other patron, appoints the priest. It also decides on the style of services and maintains the church buildings. The parish structure means that the church is there for everyone. Ideally, everyone in England has a parish priest to whom they can turn. Everyone lives in a parish. This means it's an organisation for everyone, not just believers. Cathedrals Each diocese has a Cathedral which is the 'seat' of the bishop but is run independently of him. Deans are in charge of Cathedrals, assisted by Canons and supported by a Greater Chapter including lay appointees. A number of newer parish church Cathedrals used to be headed by Provosts until the Cathedrals Measure 1999. Governance The Church of England is described as being episcopally-led (there are 108 bishops in total) and synodically governed. This means it's led by bishops and its practices are decided by the General Synod.

All Saints, Horsey, Norfolk in the snow © The General Synod is elected from the laity and clergy of each diocese and meets in London or York at least twice a year. There are three houses: the house of bishops; the house of clergy; the house of laity. Each synod member is elected to serve for five years. Complex rules govern how church law is passed. Some has to go through Parliament and all must be given Royal assent. Beliefs and worship The Church of England is a broad church, representing a wide spectrum of theological thought and practice. However, as part of the Anglican Communion there are some distinctively Anglican ideas which can be identified in the Church of England.

They are: a belief that the Bible contains the core of all Christian faith and thought a loyalty to a way of worship and life that was first set out in the Book of Common Prayer celebration of the sacraments ordained by Jesus - that of Baptism and Eucharist or Holy Communion a system of Church order that stems from ancient times and is focused in the ordained ministry of Bishop, Priest and Deacon a firm commitment to the ministry of the whole people of God, lay and ordained together a way of Christian thinking that involves Scripture, Tradition and Reason held together in creative tension. Individual parishes can decide how many services they hold in the week, how often they conduct Eucharistic services and how they structure the service to include hymns/songs, readings, the Creed, a sermon and prayers. Despite this flexibility, each priest is expected to conduct a service which has been authorised by the church in the service book. Decline, ordination of women, homosexuality Current issues Purleigh Church, Essex © As the established church, the Church of England and the comments and decisions its leaders make frequently attract media attention.

These are just a few of the key issues facing the church at the beginning of the twenty-first century: Decline in church attendance The Church of England is responsible for more than 16,000 churches and 42 Cathedrals in England, yet the number of people attending services has been in decline in recent decades. In 2002 the average number of people attending church on Sundays declined by 4% to just over a million. If you include those who attended during the week, the number rises to approximately 1.2 million. Many of those attending are of the older generations, with statistics showing that few 15 to 30 year olds go to church. Despite the slow decline in average attandance, giving to parish churches continues to increase by more than inflation every year. Individual congregations themselves are responsible for the financial maintenance of the church, despite its national church status. The Church Commissioners are responsible for managing the Church's historic assets, paying clergy pensions earned up to 1998 and helping to support parish ministry. Since 1998, parishes have been paying into a fund to provide pensions earned by clergy from that date.

There are now more people claiming a clergy pension than there are ordained stipendiary (paid) clergy. This is putting even greater pressure on the parish system with more and more priests being asked to take on additional parishes. As ever, bald statistics obscure signs of hope for the Church of England: the Diocese of London has an increasing churchgoing population due to the rise in immigrants from Africa and the importance of the church in African and Caribbean communities. many people still attend church for major festivals like Christmas. A poll carried out in 2003 revealed that nearly 40% of adults attended a church service over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2002. the Church of England has had to think of new ways of "doing church". Many parishes provide services during the week so as not to compete with leisure pastimes associated with the weekend. In one diocese, Oxford, an online parish has been established for those who want to opt out of the traditional parish structure. St Martin's in the Bullring, Birmingham © The ordination of women In 1992 when General Synod passed a vote to ordain woman not everyone in the Church of England was in agreement.

In 1993 it passed the Act of Synod setting up an official structure to enable parishes to refuse women's ministry. Male priests and their congregations could accept an alternative bishop known as a Provincial Episcopal Visitor or "flying bishop", who also rejected women as priests. This system, although criticised as institutionalising discrimination against women, has been credited with avoiding a split in the Church of England over the issue. Two other options were set up to allow male priests to reject women's ministry. Firstly, a scheme allowed men to leave the priesthood with appropriate financial support until they had resettled. Secondly, the Roman Catholic Church allowed married (and non-married) Anglican priests to join its priesthood. In 1994 in Bristol the first women priests were ordained. Now, more than ten years on, one in five Church of England licensed priests is female. Pressure is growing to now allow women to be Bishops. A working party, set up by General Synod, has published a theological study of women in the Episcopate and the impact such a move would have both on the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion. The Synod will debate it in 2005.

Homosexuality and the Church of England Many of the headlines regarding the Church of England since 2002 have regarded the rights of homosexual priests. The Church of England allows for the ordination of gay priests as long as they are celibate. In 2003 Canon Jeffrey John was appointed as Bishop of Reading. Despite his pro-gay views (he's written articles and pamphlets outlining why gay couples should live in faithful, permanent, stable relationships) he made it clear that he was celibate. His appointment, and the subsequent election of an openly gay bishop in America, prompted a national and international examination on the rights of homosexual clergy. Canon Jeffrey John stood down as Bishop-elect of Reading but has subsequently been installed as Dean of St Albans. Alongside issues of homosexual clergy, the wider Anglican Communion has been wrestling with whether to sanction same-sex blessings. Both these issues could cause divisions within the Anglican Communion with the provinces of the global south (Nigeria, South East Asia, South America among many others) threatening to split permanently from those sanctioning the blessing of same-sex relationships and the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy - mainly in North America.

A commission set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury and headed by Dr Robin Eames, Primate of Ireland made recommendations on the matter in autumn 2004. Why did Henry VIII create the Church of England? | Reference.com Why did Henry VIII create the Church of England? A: Quick Answer King Henry VIII created the Church of England in 1536 as a result of a dispute with the pope, who would not permit Henry to get a divorce from his wife and marry his long-time mistress. Henry's marital history started under a cloud of suspicion, as his marriage to Catherine of Aragon meant he was forming a union with his brother's widow. Whether his series of divorces was actually the result of his failure to produce a male heir or some other form of instability is a matter of some dispute, but the reason for forming the Anglican Church was to give Henry the right to act as the head of his own church and marry as he pleased. England, Church of: History England, Church of History Origins Christianity, introduced by the Romans, was fairly well established in Britain by the 4th cent., but was almost destroyed by the Anglo-Saxon invasions beginning in the 5th cent.

Surviving in isolation, the Celtic Church developed practices at variance with those on the Continent. This led to conflict when St. Augustine of Canterbury arrived (597) to reconvert England. Roman usages were eventually adopted in preference to Celtic ones (see Whitby, Synod of ), but the English Church remained somewhat isolated until the Norman Conquest, when Continental churchmen undertook its reform. Creation of the Church During the Middle Ages the church in England was affected by the same clashes that bedevilled the relationship between church and state elsewhere in Europe. A modus vivendi was finally achieved in the matter of investiture , but quarrels over the taxes demanded by Rome and appeals going from English courts to Rome were not resolved until Henry VIII broke the union of the English church with Rome. This action, which created the Church of England, was occasioned by the pope's refusal to grant Henry's request for an annulment of his marriage to Katharine of Aragón . The Act of Supremacy (1534) acknowledged the king as "the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England." Thus the Reformation in England under Henry was at first a matter of policy, not doctrine.

The theology of the new national church as shown in the Six Articles (1539) and the King's Book (1543) was largely unchanged, although some Lutheran influence may be detected. Henry authorized the Great Bible (1539), a revision of the English translations of William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale, and some slight alterations in service. The monasteries were suppressed, chiefly at the hands of Thomas Cromwell . Under Edward VI changes came rapidly, and Protestantism gained ground. The first and second Book of Common Prayer , produced by Thomas Cranmer , were adopted in 1549 and 1552, respectively, and a statement of doctrine, the Forty-two Articles, was drawn up. Under Mary I all the measures that had separated the Church of England from Rome were reversed; the Roman ritual was brought back, and the nation was received again into the communion of Rome. Elizabeth I restored independence. The Elizabethan Settlement steered the English church upon a middle course between Roman Catholicism and Calvinism. The prayer book of 1552 was restored, and the Forty-two Articles, revised toward a more Catholic position and reduced to Thirty-nine, were adopted as a doctrinal standard.

The national church maintained the historical episcopate and retained its continuity with the early church of Britain and much of the ritualism sanctioned by the older rubrics. By the Act of Supremacy (1559) ecclesiastical jurisdiction was restored to the crown to be exercised by a court of high commission. The classical statement of the peculiar Anglican position was made by Richard Hooker . Under James I the steadily rising tide of Puritanism made necessary the Hampton Court Conference (1604). At that conference, James gave his decision for the existing doctrine. The great achievement of the conference was the King James, or Authorized, Version of the English Bible (1611). The English Civil War and the Restoration Under Charles I the extreme measures of the party headed by Archbishop William Laud , in maintaining the discipline and worship of the church against the Calvinists, had much to do with bringing on (1642) the English civil war . The Long Parliament, after excluding the bishops, substituted Presbyterianism for the episcopacy in 1646, in accordance with the Solemn League and Covenant (see Covenanters ).

Under Oliver Cromwell, Independent rather than Presbyterian doctrines triumphed; it was a penal offense to use the Book of Common Prayer. Many bishops were imprisoned, and many churches were pillaged. With the Restoration (1660) the episcopacy was reestablished. After failure of the Savoy Conference (1661) to create a compromise with the Puritans, the prayer book was revised in a Catholic direction (1662) and made the only legal service book by an Act of Uniformity, which required the episcopal ordination of all ministers. About 2,000 nonconformist clergymen, instead of complying, resigned and with their adherents established their own worship in Protestant nonconformist chapels, in spite of severe acts passed against them by Parliament (see nonconformists ). The Glorious Revolution The Roman Catholic James II attempted to move the church toward Rome, but in 1688 William Sancroft , archbishop of Canterbury, and six other bishops refused the king's order to read his declaration of toleration in all churches. They were imprisoned but acquitted by trial.

After the overthrow of James in the Glorious Revolution (1688), the Bill of Rights (1689) declared that the monarch must be Protestant and the Act of Settlement (1701) required that he or she be a member of the Church of England. Some of the clergy, however, including Sancroft, refused to swear allegiance to William and Mary and therefore lost their positions (see nonjurors ). The Eighteenth Century In the 18th cent. latitudinarians held control in the church; dogma, liturgy, and ecclesiastical organization were subordinated to the appeal to reason, abhorrence of religious enthusiasm, and Erastianism. In 1701 the first Anglican missionary society, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), was founded for work overseas, and much of its early work was done in America. In George I's reign the Bangorian Controversy led to the prorogation of convocation in 1717; the next council of the church was not reconvened until 1852. The revival of religious fervor in the late 18th cent.

resulted both in the rise of the evangelical movement within the Church of England and in the Methodist schism. The Church Missionary Society, founded in 1799, grew out of the evangelical movement. The Oxford Movement to the Present In the first half of the 19th cent., the Catholic and apostolic character of the Church of England was strongly reaffirmed by the Oxford movement , which was led by John Keble and Edward Bouverie Pusey and also by John Henry Newman until he converted to Roman Catholicism. The Oxford movement—with its emphasis on ritual and its belief in the doctrines of apostolic succession and the Real Presence—gave new life and direction to the High Church tradition, which became known also as Anglo-Catholicism. At the same time the Broad Church movement was developing. It advocated liberal views in theology and biblical studies. Both of these movements challenged the position of the Evangelical, or Low Church, party, which emphasized the Bible and preaching and was the leading party of the church through the 19th cent. In the 20th cent.

the Church of England became involved in revision of canon law and the prayer book, in church building, in attempts to minister to the world of industry (e.g., the Sheffield Industrial Mission), and in the ecumenical movement . The traditional divisions within the church remain, though the focus of their disagreements have changed. The issue of homosexuality among the clergy has been divisive, and the selection of a celibate gay priest as a candidate for bishop of Reading in 2003 led to a sometimes bitter public fight over the choice that was only resolved when the candidate decided to withdraw his name. In 2012 the church's bishops, however, approved the candidacy of celibate gay priests for the episcopate. Traditionalists within the church also have objected to the consecration of women as bishops; the general synod narrowly failed to approve women bishops in 2012. The current archbishop of Canterbury is Justin Welby . Sections in this article: BBC History - Henry VIII Henry VIII Henry VIII Henry VIII is one of the most famous kings in English history. He was the second Tudor monarch and was well-known for having six wives. His break with the papacy in Rome established the Church of England and began the Reformation.

Image: Henry VIII (1491–1547) by Hans Holbein the younger (Getty Images) More information about: Henry VIII Henry, the second son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich Palace. After the death of his elder brother Arthur in 1502, Henry became heir to the English throne. King of England When Henry VII died in 1509, this popular eighteen-year-old prince, known for his love of hunting and dancing, became King Henry VIII. Soon after he obtained the papal dispensation required to allow him to marry his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon. In the first years of his reign Henry VIII effectively relied on Thomas Wolsey to rule for him, and by 1515 Henry had elevated him to the highest role in government: Lord Chancellor. In 1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry for his book 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum', which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope in the face of the reforming ideals of the German theologian, Martin Luther.

Military might Henry VIII's early military campaigns began when he joined Pope Julius II's Holy League against France in 1511. Wolsey proved himself to be an outstanding minister in his organisation of the first French campaign and while the Scots saw this war as an opportunity to invade England, they were defeated at Flodden in 1513. However war with France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful. Henry VIII is known as the 'father of the Royal Navy.' When he became king there were five royal warships. By his death he had built up a navy of around 50 ships. He refitted several vessels with the latest guns including the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545. Henry also built the first naval dock in Britain at Portsmouth and in 1546 he established the Navy Board. This set up the administrative machinery for the control of the fleet. A male heir Henry was acutely aware of the importance of securing a male heir during his reign. He was worried that he had only one surviving child, Mary, to show for his marriage to Catherine, who was now in her 40s.

So the king asked Cardinal Wolsey to appeal to Pope Clement VII for an annulment and it soon became clear he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, who had been a lady-in-waiting to his first wife. But, unwilling to anger Catherine of Aragon's nephew – the most powerful ruler in Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V – the Pope refused. Thomas Wolsey's ascendancy was cut short by this failure. In 1533, Henry VIII broke with the church and married the now pregnant Anne Boleyn in a secret ceremony. Henry was excommunicated by the Pope. The English reformation had begun. Head of the Church After Wolsey's downfall, Thomas Cromwell became Henry's chief minister and earned the confidence of the King by helping him to break with Rome and establish Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. This act also brought him much needed wealth through the dissolution of the well-funded monasteries. Over four years Cromwell ordered that 800 monasteries be disbanded and their lands and treasures taken for the crown. The cultural and social impact was significant, as much of the land was sold to the gentry and churches and monasteries were gutted and destroyed.

Henry's personal religious beliefs remained Catholic, despite the growing number of people at court and in the nation who had adopted Protestantism. Anne Boleyn In September 1533 Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I). Henry had grown tired of her, and after two further pregnancies ended in miscarriages, she was arrested in 1536 on trumped up charges of adultery and publicly beheaded at the Tower of London. Henry's third marriage, this time to lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, finally produced the son he so desperately desired with the birth of Edward in 1537. Jane Seymour died after childbirth and Henry ordered that she be granted a queen's funeral. In an attempt to establish ties with the German Protestant alliance, Thomas Cromwell arranged a marriage between the king and German princess Anne of Cleves. The marriage was a disaster and Henry divorced Anne a few months later. Henry blamed Cromwell for this mismatch and soon afterwards had him executed for treason. Final Years The final years of his reign witnessed Henry VIII's physical decline and an increasing desire to appear all-powerful. Henry continued with fruitless and expensive campaigns against Scotland and France.

In 1540, the aging King married the teenage Catherine Howard. Their marriage was short lived. It was alleged that she had a previous relationship with Henry's courtier Francis Dereham and an affair with another courtier Thomas Culpeper. Catherine was executed for adultery and treason in 1542. Henry's final marriage to Catherine Parr, who acted like a nurse, was more harmonious and she would go on to outlive him. Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547 and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. He was buried next to Jane Seymour in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Anglican Domain: Church History Official web pages Make your web site Getting more help About this web site Church words Staying in touch Site map The name "Anglican" means "of England", but the Anglican church exists worldwide. It began in the sixth century in England, when Pope Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine to Britain to bring a more disciplined Apostolic succession to the Celtic Christians.

The Anglican Church evolved as part of the Roman church, but the Celtic influence was folded back into the Roman portion of the church in many ways, perhaps most notably by Charlemagne's tutor Aidan. The Anglican church was spread worldwide first by English colonization and then by English-speaking missionaries. The Anglican church, although it has apostolic succession, is separate from the Roman church. The history of Christianity has produced numerous notable separations. In 1054 came the first major split from Roman administration of the church, when the Eastern Orthodox church and the Roman split apart. The conflict of authority in England between church and state certainly dates back to the arrival of Augustine, and has simmered for many centuries. The murder of Thomas a Becket was one of the more famous episodes of this conflict. The Magna Carta , signed by King John in 1215, contains 63 points; the very first point is a declaration that the English church is independent of its government.. Discontent with Roman administration of the church. The beginning of the sixteenth century showed significant discontent with the Roman church.

Martin Luther's famous 95 Theses were nailed to the door of the church in Wittenburg in 1517, and news of this challenge had certainly reached England when, 20 years later, the Anglican branch of the church formally challenged the authority of Rome. Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and abbeys in 1536. There is a public perception, especially in the United States, that Henry VIII created the Anglican church in anger over the Pope's refusal to grant his divorce, but the historical record indicates that Henry spent most of his reign challenging the authority of Rome, and that the divorce issue was just one of a series of acts that collectively split the English church from the Roman church in much the same way that the Orthodox church had split off five hundred years before. Defining the new church The newly-separated Anglican church was given some formal structure in 1562 during the reign of Elizabeth I. That structure is not a management process or governing organization. What binds us together is not common administration but shared tradition and shared belief. Our belief is written down in the Holy Bible and the Articles of Religion; our tradition is in part embodied in our Book of Common Prayer.

The first Book of Common Prayer was produced in 1549. In it the Latin liturgy was radically simplified and translated into English, and for the first time a single 'use' was enforced throughout England. It has been revised numerous times since then, the most significant revision being the first, in 1552. All revisions since then, before the modern era, were very conservative revisions. The 1662 English Book of Common Prayer forms the historical basis for most Anglican liturgy around the world. While several countries have their own prayer books, all borrow heavily from the English tradition rooted in Cranmer's original work. Further Information Church history has been an important part of the cultural history of every nation, and through the centuries thousands of books have been written about it. Every library and every encyclopedia will cover it to some degree. An informative online starting point for learning more about the history of the Anglican Church is The Anglican Timeline , produced by the American physician Ed Friedlander, MD. It lists several hundred notable events in the history of the Anglican church, with large numbers of links to reference materials and primary sources.

Henry VIII - Founder of the Church of England Henry VIII - Founder of the Church of England Kategorie: Dejepis (celkem: 1096 referďż˝tďż˝ a seminďż˝rek) Informace o referďż˝tu: Datum pďż˝idďż˝nďż˝: 05. ďż˝ervence 2007 Zobrazeno: 18100× Henry VIII - Founder of the Church of England HENRY VIII - FOUNDER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND The sixteenth century is the Renaissance age ďż˝ the age of development of fine arts, the age of religious and social changes, the age that shut the door of Middle Ages. And maybe only the age like that could create a person like Henry VIII. He was probably the greatest monarch of his time. Henry was also one of the greatest English kings of all time and his policies led at the end to the English Reformation. This research paper will focus on his private life, his policies and on circumstances of rise of the Church of England. Henryďż˝s childhood was quite common for a member of a royal family.

Henry was born in 1491 as a younger son of Henry VII Tudor. He was very skilled in physical and also artistic way (Henry VIII, 1992; Halliday, 1995). He was not a heir to the throne till his older brother died. When he was 18 his father died and he accessed the throne (Halliday, 1995). With the popeďż˝s permission he married his brotherďż˝s widow Catherine of Aragon (Henry VIII, 1992). One important man stood at the beginning of Henryďż˝s reign. It was Thomas Wolsey. He was the first minister, lord Chancellor, archbishop of York (later Cardinal), kingďż˝s right hand and also a friend. Wolseyďż˝s government supported Henry in a invasion to France where he fought on the side of Spanish king, his father-in-law (Henry VIII, 1992). According to Halliday (1995), good relationship with Spain was important as Spain ruled Netherlands and English trade went mainly through Antwerp. In these years Wolsey became very rich and powerful and therefore very unpopular.

His position brought him later big problems. The most important political issue in Henryďż˝s reign had become so-called ďż˝kingďż˝s great matterďż˝; in other words, divorce from Catherine of Aragon. The reason was obvious, Henry still had no male heir. Catherine gave only one daughter, Mary (Henry VIII, 1992). Therefore Henry ordered to Wolsey (Haigh, 1992) to ask the pope to pronounced Henryďż˝s marriage invalid. As a reason he stated that marriage with his brotherďż˝s widow is against Bible and that lack of a son is kind of punishment from God. The pope refused as he was under a strong influence of the Emperor, king of Spain and Catherineďż˝s nephew (Henry VIII, 1992). Popeďż˝s reluctance meant a fall of Wolsey (Haigh, 1992). However, Henry did not respect the papal decision. In 1533 Henry married Anne Boleyn, one of the ladies of the court (Henry VIII, 1992) Archbishop Thomas Cranmer annulled his marriage with Catherine.

Popeďż˝s reaction was a excommunication of Henry from the church. So Henry became ďż˝Supreme Head of the Church of Englandďż˝ (by the Act of Supremacy in 1534), a church that was independent of Rome (Halliday, 1995). This whole situation was a bit complicated for Henry. He had to decide what next. He himself did not want to change anything from Catholic religion, he did not sympathize with the Protestants (Halliday, 1995). His Act of Six Articles was supposed to protect six Catholic dogmas against changes (Haigh, 1992). This is the evidence that English Reformation was political and not religious act. Although it seemed that the religion had not changed, there was at least one big difference. Service was served in English not in Latin any more and English Bible was supposed to be in every parish church (Halliday, 1995). However, the Reformation did not happen to be without problems. There were several rebellions all over England. The biggest one (called Pilgrimage of Grace) took place in Yorkshire in 1536.

All of them were suppressed (Haigh, 1992). Henry needed some help in the political field. He found a supporter in Thomas Cromwell, who replaced Wolsey. This minister made him even more powerful. As a quarter of the country was owned by the church (Halliday, 1995), a dissolution of monasteries (1536-40) sorted out Henryďż˝s financial problems. Newly obtained wealth served mainly to finance Henryďż˝s wars (Haigh, 1992). As was pointed out previously, the main reason for the whole Reformation was lack of a male heir. But Henryďż˝s hopes for a son were not fulfilled. Anne gave him also only a daughter, Elizabeth. Soon after, Anne was convicted of treasonable adultery and executed (Haigh, 1992). Henry than married Jane Seymour who gave him long-awaited son Edward (Henry VIII, 1992). Henry finally had the male heir and both of his daughters were declared bastards (Haigh, 1992). Henryďż˝s fourth wife was Anne Cleves (Jane died at childbirth).

This was political marriage and Henry did not like her, so he divorced. Failure of this marriage and intrigues of the court caused a fall of Cromwell who was executed (Haigh, 1992). Henry than had two more wives; Catherine Howard (executed) and Catherine Parr, but no other children (Henry VIII, 1992). The later years of Henryďż˝s reign were in were characterized by constant suspicions. Many people were executed after being convicted of treason (Henry VIII, 1992). Encyclopaedia Britannica (Henry VIII, 1992) goes on to say: ďż˝Henry had by now become truly dangerous: always secretive and suspicious, now he was beginning to how paranoiac tendencies. Convinced that he controlled everyone, he was in fact readily manipulated by those who knew how to feed his suspicions and pander to his self-righteousnessďż˝ (p. 841). Even the final years of Henryďż˝s life were not calm. He led wars with France and Scotland. He ruled the country on is own and as he was not very psychically balanced his policy was not very good.

He died at the beginning of the year 1547 (Henry VIII, 1992). ďż˝He left the realm feeling bereft and the government even more bewildered because, to the last, he had refused to make full arrangements for the rule of a boy kingďż˝(Henry VIII,1992, p. 842). To sum up, Henry VIII was a true monarch. He really is a colossus among English kings. Although, the early and late years of his reign do not seem to be of a big significance he did something that highlighted his name in a history. He wanted so much to have a male heir. When the pope deny his claim for a divorce he did not step back from his aim and did what probably many kings in a history were secretly longing for, but they were too cautious and afraid to do that. He escaped from the papal influence and changed the face of the church in England forever. He was first among English kings who became ďż˝Supreme Head of the Church of Englandďż˝ and that is Henryďż˝s biggest significance for a British history.

Even after more that 450 years from Henryďż˝s death his heritage ďż˝ The Church of England ďż˝ is still alive. Sources: Halliday, F.E. (1995). England concise history. London: Thames and Hudson. Haigh, Ch. (1992). The Cambridge historical encyclopedia of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Cambridge University Press. Henry VIII(1992). New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Micropaedia, vol. 5. Chicago:. History: Timeline | Episcopal Church History: Timeline 1517: Martin Luther publishes 95 Theses , sparking the Protestant Reformation. 1521: Pope designates Henry VIII "Defender of the Faith." English monarchs to this day retain the title. 1529-36: Henry VIII and Parliament take over the administration of the Church in England . Destruction of monasteries ensues. 1547: Henry dies. He is succeeded by Edward VI, with Edward's uncle as Lord Protector. 1552: The second Book of Common Prayer is approved. 1553: Edward VI dies at age 16.

Mary becomes Queen, restores Roman Catholicism, and burns Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley at the stake. She marries Philip II, the Roman Catholic monarch of Spain. 1558: Elizabeth I becomes Queen upon Mary's death and re-establishes the Church of England, with the English monarch as its highest earthly authority. 1559: The third Book of Common Prayer is approved. Puritans protest. 1563: The Thirty-Nine Articles are prepared; they are approved by Parliament in 1571. 1579: The first English-language Communion service is held in the Western Hemisphere (California) by Sir Francis Drake's chaplain. 1603: Elizabeth I dies at age 70; James I, of Scotland becomes king and authorizes a new translation of the Bible. 1607: The Church of England is established in the first permanent English-speaking settlement in the New World, Jamestown, Virginia. The Church of England is then also established in other mid-Atlantic and southern colonies. 1620: Pilgrims (Puritan religious refugees) land at Plymouth Rock.

1636: Harvard College is founded to train Congregational (Puritan) clergy. 1645: The Book of Common Prayer is outlawed by Puritan-controlled Parliament. 1649: King Charles I is executed in a revolution led by Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who became Lord Protector in 1653. 1658: Oliver Cromwell dies, and is succeeded by son Richard. 1660: Richard Cromwell is overthrown, and Charles II becomes king. 1662: The fourth Book of Common Prayer is approved, which is still in use by the Church of England. 1693: The College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia) is started by Church of England. 1699: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is founded. 1701: Yale College is founded to educate Congregational clergy. 1701: The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts is founded. 1607-1785: The Church of England in New World is overseen by the Bishop of London. The vestry system develops. Clergy are paid from taxes.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson serve on vestries. 1776: The Declaration of Independence is signed. Most Anglican clergy, who have sworn loyalty to the King in their ordinations, stay loyal. 1783: The Treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War. 1784: Samuel Seabury of Connecticut is consecrated the first overseas Anglican bishop by Scottish non-juring bishops, after being elected in Connecticut and rejected by Church of England bishops, who, legally, could not ordain him. Seabury promised to use the Scottish 1764 Communion service, based on the Eastern Orthodox service. 1785: The First General Convention of Episcopal Church is held, with clergy and lay representatives from Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. The General Convention authorizes the preparation of an American Prayer Book and names itself the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. 1786: The proposed American Book of Common Prayer is approved for use on a state-by-state basis. 1787: Samuel Provoost of New York and William White of Philadelphia are consecrated bishops by the Church of England.

Seabury's Scottish consecration helped motivate Parliament and the Church of England to do this. Both continue to be rectors. The second General Convention adopts basically the present Episcopal Church structure. A revised Book of Common Prayer , prepared by White, is adopted; this version of the Book of Common Prayer is based on the 1662 Prayer Book with the exception of the 1764 Scottish Communion Service. 1804: Absalom Jones is ordained the first black priest in the Episcopal Church. Early 1800s: Bishop Provoost of New York secures for New York a fair share of inheritance left by Queen Anne (d. 1714). Methodism gains strength in England and United States. 1817: General Convention authorizes the founding of the General Theological Seminary in New York City. 1823: The Diocese of Virginia establishes a second Episcopal seminary, Virginia Theological Seminary, in Alexandria. 1839: The Diocese of Virginia establishes the first high school in Virginia, Episcopal High School (adjacent to Virginia Theological Seminary). 1833: The Oxford Movement (Anglo-Catholic) begins in England.

In the following decades, many new Religious Orders (i.e., monastic communities) were formed. 1861-65: During the American Civil War, Southern Episcopal dioceses join the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Confederate States of America, but are welcomed back after war ends. Other denominations experience long term (100+ years) splits. 1873: Evangelical, "low church"-oriented Reformed Episcopal Church is founded. 1885: The House of Bishops adopts the Chicago Quadrilateral. General Convention approves the Quadrilateral in 1886. 1888: The Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops adopts the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral . 1892: Minor revisions are made to the Book of Common Prayer . 1919: The National Council (now the Executive Council) is established by General Convention. The Office of the Presiding Bishop is established to oversee national church programs. 1928: The revised Book of Common Prayer includes language updates and a new translation of Psalms. "Love, honor, and obey" is dropped from the bride's vows in the service of Holy Matrimony. 1940: A new Hymnal is approved.

1944: Henry St. George Tucker becomes the Episcopal Church's first full-time Presiding Bishop. 1961: John Hines of Texas is elected Presiding Bishop. Strong social justice commitments elicit negative reaction from conservatives. 1970: The first authorized women members join the House of Deputies. 1973: John Allin of Mississippi is elected Presiding Bishop for 12-year term. 1974: The first eleven women are ordained to priesthood in an “irregular” service in Philadelphia. 1976: General Convention approves the ordination of women, and "regularizes" 1974-75 ordinations. First reading on new Prayer Book. 1979: Second reading approves new (present) Book of Common Prayer . 1982: A new Hymnal is approved. 1985: Edmond Browning of Hawaii is elected Presiding Bishop for a 12-year term. 1989: Barbara Harris is consecrated the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion . 1995: $2.2-million embezzlement by the church's treasurer, Ellen Cooke, is uncovered. She is subsequently imprisoned.

1997: Frank Griswold of Chicago is elected Presiding Bishop for a 9-year term. 2000: General Convention approves "Called to Common Mission," a revised version of the Lutheran Concordat, establishing full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church, effective January 1, 2001. 2003: General Convention approves the Diocese of New Hampshire's election of the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest in a long-term committed relationship, as Bishop Coadjutor. 2006: Katharine Jefferts Schori of Nevada is elected the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church for a 9-year term. She is the first and only woman to be a churchwide leader in the Anglican Communion. 2009: General Convention charges the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop theological and liturgical resources for same-sex blessings and report back to the General Convention in 2012. 2011: The Episcopal Church inaugurates a full-communion relationship with the Northern and Southern provinces of the Moravian Church in North America .

2012: The Episcopal Church approves the trial use of an official liturgy to bless same-sex couples and their unions, called "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant." 2015: The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry was installed as the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church on November 1, 2015.

Question: Which King founded the Church of England?
Answer: Henry 8th